Equities Sector Coverage: Wall Street Falls Lower in Late Trading

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up to 12,830.29 in morning trading then dipped to 12,611.79 into the final half hour of trading, below its 50-day simple moving average at 12,697. The NASDAQ traded up to 2953.47 in the morning then down to 2891.87 in the afternoon staying just above its 50-day at 2888.

Asian stocks were lower on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 ended the day at 8,858 – down 0.44%. The Hang Seng ended the day at 19,397 – down 0.16%. European exchanges rebounded on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 ended the day at 5,664 – up 0.65%. The DAX ended the day at 6,438 – up 0.79%. The CAC 40 ended the day at 3,175 – up 0.59%. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury note declined from 1.534% to 1.496% on Tuesday as the “flight to quality” continues.

Gold rebounded from $1582.7 the Troy ounce to $1602.0 then plunged to $1564.4 as the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages decline to $1596.9 and $1660.9. Crude oil rebounded from $84.62 per barrel to $85.95 then declined to $83.65 trading between its 200-week simple moving average at $80.35 and the 50-day at $88.68. The euro versus the dollar traded up to 1.2333 then declined to 1.2239.

Energy

Patriot Coal (PCX) became one of the first victims of the fracking revolution filing for bankruptcy protection on Monday. The company expects to continue mining operations and customer shipments in an ordinary fashion as it goes through reorganization. Forest Oil (FST) has been downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital. Dow components – Chevron (CVX) down 0.20%, Exxon Mobil (XOM) down 0.13%.

Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $64.82 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.77% on the day – down 6.23% year-to-date.

Materials

Alcoa (AA) kicked off Q2 earnings season by reporting that EPS fell to $0.06 from $0.32 a year ago, which was in line with reduced estimates. Revenue fell 9.4% to $5.96 billion which beat expectations. Earnings were hurt by a fall in aluminum prices to near two-year lows, but nonetheless Alcoa maintained its forecast for a global aluminum supply deficit of 7% in 2012. WD-40 (WDFC) expects "at best" flat European sales for the full year, cut advertising and sales promotion expenses by 6% to adjust to uncertainty. Celanese (CE) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS. Dow components – Alcoa (AA) down 3.53%, DuPont (DD) up 1.60%.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $34.29 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.83% on the day – up 2.36% year-to-date.

Industrials

Shaw Group (SHAW) reported a narrower than expected loss with a modest beat on the revenue line and sets a $500 million share buyback program. AptarGroup (ATR) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Keybanc following its negative earnings pre-announcement yesterday. Ingersoll-Rand (IR) has been downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities. Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) has been downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital. Tyco (TYC) has been downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Atlantic Equities. Dow components – Boeing Co (BA) up 0.51%, Caterpillar (CAT) up 0.10%, General Electric (GE) down 0.71%, 3M Company (MMM) up 0.52%, United Technologies (UTX) up 1.16%.

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $34.46 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 2.07% on the day – up 2.10% year-to-date.

Consumer Discretionary

Wolverine World Wide (WWW) missed Q2 EPS of $0.41 by two cents with a miss on the revenue line. Cantor Fitzgerald begins Buy rated coverage on Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) with price targets at $57, $14, and $134 respectively citing growing prosperity in China and ongoing opportunities in Macau. TiVo Inc (TIVO) has been initiated with an Overweight rating at Barclays. Bridgepoint Education (BPI) has been downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. Pearson Plc (PSO) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Sony (SNE) has been downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Viacom (VIAB) has been downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS. Dow Components – Disney (DIS) down 0.41%, Home Depot up 0.60%, McDonalds (MCD) up 0.68%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $43.19 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 0.78% on the day – up 10.69% year-to-date.

Consumer Staples

Helen of Troy (HELE) missed Q1 EPS estimates of $0.74 by fourteen cents with in-line revenue. PriceSmart's (PSMT) reported that comparable warehouse sales rose 10.9% year over year and that membership income grew 19.2%. Limited Brands (LTD) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus based on slowing growth prospects. Tyson Foods (TSN) has been downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan. Dow components – Kraft (KFT) up 1.41%, Coca Cola (KO) up 0.49%, Procter & Gamble (PG) up 0.42%, Wal-Mart (WMT) up 0.92%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $34.94 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.06% on the day – up 7.54% year-to-date.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $37.59 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 0.63% on the day – up 8.36% year-to-date.

Financial

Former Barclays (BCS) CEO Bob Diamond will voluntarily forgo any deferred bonuses, said to be worth a maximum of $31 million. American Express (AXP) and Discover (DFS) have been initiated with Buy ratings at Nomura with a Neutral rating on Capital One (COF). TD Ameritrade (AMTD) has been upgraded to Hold from Sell at BGB Securities. T. Rowe Price (TROW) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. American National Bankshares (AMNB) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital. Eaton Vance (EV) has been downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Interactive Brokers (IBKR) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus. Dow Components – American Express (AXP) up 0.83%, Bank of America (BAC) up 0.13%, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) up 0.41%, Travelers (TRV) up 0.51%.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.31 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 0.97% on the day – up 10.08% year-to-date.

Information Technology

Intel (INTC) is investing $4.1 billion in chip-equipment maker ASML (ASML) and agreed to buy a 10% stake for $2.1 billion and pledged to eventually acquire another 5% stake. Intel will provide another $1 billion to support ASML's R&D programs for cutting-edge technologies. AMD (AMD) shares were hit by 9.25% premarket after the company warned that it expects Q2 revenue to fall 11%, well below a guidance range of plus or minus 3%. AMD blamed weaker-than-expected sales in China and Europe, and the impact of poor consumer spending. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) down 0.36%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) down 0.57%, IBM (IBM) down 0.96%, Intel Corp (INTC) down 1.70%, Microsoft (MSFT) down 0.84%.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $28.26 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.29% on the day – up 11.04% year-to-date.

Telecommunication Services

Google (GOOG) is nearing a settlement with the FTC, and will reportedly pay $22.5 million over charges it bypassed the privacy settings of millions of Apple users. This is not much of a financial hit, but would be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the FTC and could further undermine users' trust in Google. Samsung (SSNLF.PK) won a court battle against Apple (AAPL) as a UK Judge ruled the design of the Galaxy tablets doesn't infringe on the iPad's design, and that consumers were unlikely to confuse the two as the Galaxy tablets. Dow Components – AT&T Inc up 0.28%, Verizon (VZ) up 0.27%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $178.72 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.34% on the day – down 9.25% year-to-date.

Utilities

Duke Energy (DUK) CEO Jim Rogers is due to appear before a hearing of the North Carolina Utilities Commission about the ouster of Bill Johnson just hours after the Duke's acquisition of Progress Energy was completed. The commission has said it might not have authorized the deal had it known about the changed management structure. Rescinding the deal is seen as unlikely. Southwestern Energy (SWN): has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus with a price target at $38 citing an attractive valuation relative to other dry gas names. GDF Suez (GDFZY) - The French utility company has been downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, sending shares lower in European trading. Dominion Resources (D) up 0.04%, Edison International (EIX) up 0.44%, First Energy (FE) flat, PG&E Corp (PCG) up 0.07%, Southern Company (SO) up 0.09%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $36.75 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.11% on the day – up 2.14% year-to-date.

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